Safety device for corn-rusking machines



. L- A. B'UTTERFIELD. SAFETY DEVICE FOR CORN HUSKING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1919.

1,358,826. 4 Patented Nov. 16,1920.

HHIIIIIIHIII ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STAT E 1S PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS A. BUTTERFIELD, 0F CHICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BELCI-IER AND TAYLOR AGRICULTURAL TOOL COMPANY, OF CHICOPEE FALLS MASSACHUSETTS, A COR'BORATICN OF HIASSACEUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed July 19, 1919. Serial No. 312,046.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwis A. Butrrnnrmnn, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicopee Falls, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Corn-Husking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to safety devices for corn husking machines.

It has for its object the provision of a safety device by which the operator may quickly stop the snapping rolls of the husker if they become jammed or if his hand or clothing becomes caught in them.

My invention is illustrated as applied to a husking machine of a well-known type in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an end view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan, showing the safety device; and

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2. V

The corn husker is composed of a frame 10, a feeding table 11 upon which the stalks of corn are placed prior to being manually fed into the machine, and a frame 12 upon which may be supported the usual conveyer for carrying the stalks to a suitable pile or to a cutting machine. Carried by frame 10 are the snapping rolls 13 and 14 and the husking rolls 15, the latter of which may be driven by any suitable gearing, not shown. It is to the drive mechanism for the snapping rolls that my invention relates, and this will now be described in detail.

The drive shaft 16 extends through the machine, carrying at one end a pulley 17 by which it may be driven from any suitable source of power, and at the other end suitable .gearing for imparting motion to the husking roll. This gearing forms no part of my invention, and has not been illustrated. A gear 18 turns freely upon the shaft, being held from axial motion by a collar 19 and a square sleeve 20, both of ping rolls the gear has a toothed hub 22 forming one element of a clutch. The other element 23 slides freely upon the squared sleeve 20, but is constrained thereby to rotate with the shaft 18. The movable element of the clutch has a groove 21 in which run rollers secured to a shifting yoke 26 pivoted at 27 upon a bracket 28 of frame 10. The yoke has a handle 29 upon which is pivoted a locking dog 80, having an integral detent 31 and a handle portion 32 adjacent handle 29 and pressed from it by spring 38. Detent 31 is adapted to drop under pressure of spring 33 into notches 34 in a plate 35 adjustably mounted, as by a bolt and slot connection 36, on bracket 28.

By the mechanism above it is possible to operate the clutch by grasping both handles 29 and 32, squeezing them together so as to withdraw the detent from the notch, and then shifting the yoke 26 to the desired position. This is the method used in starting the snapping rolls, and may also be used for stopping them, but in case of emergency it is desirable to have some quicker way of moving the yoke, and insuring that the detent is positively withdrawn from the notch. Forv this purpose I have provided a bellcrank 37 pivoted upon the frame 10, having its upper arm connected to the locking dog 30 by a link 38, and its other arm connected by a link 39 with a treadle 10. The treadle is preferably pivoted to frame 10 and located just above a platform 11 upon which the operator stands when working with the machine, and it is therefore in a convenient position to be quickly reached by the operators foot. quick depression of the treadle will disengage the" detent 31 from its retaining notch and will then move the shifting yoke so as to disengage the clutch members. The action is positive and practically instantaneous.

I claim 1. In a safety device comprising a drive shaft, a clutch member constrained to rotate therewith, a second clutch member adapted to be connected to mechanism to be driven from the drive shaft, a lever mounted to shift one of the clutch members, a'detent pivoted to the lever, a plate having notches to be engaged by the detent to hold the lever in position, a treadle, and a linkage between the treadle and the detent whereby depression of the treadle Will cause the detent to, be Withdrawn from the notch and the lever shifted to'disengage the clutch membars;

2. A clutch of the type wherein the shiftable member is movedby a lever having a" handle and a locking detent carried by the handle to hold the same in clutch-engaging position, characterized by the provision of a treadle and linkage connecting the treadle to e the detent, whereby motion of the treadle will first move the detent toward the handle from thenotch-and the lever moved to released position.

LEWIS A. BUTTER-FIELD. 

